Laundry-drier



J. J. POWER.

LAUNDRY DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-7,19%.

1,338,696. Patented May 4, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

awumdo'b wwwm J. 1. POWER.

LAUNDRY DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 7. 1916.

Patented May 4, 1920.

amvawto'z atkozmua UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JEFFREY J. POWER, OI MADISON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR '10 POWER, STEVENS FAN DEVICES COMPANY, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

LAUNDRY-DRIER.

Application filed December laundry driers.

. Heretofore the common practicehas been to place the fabrics to be dried in a rotary drum having perforate or slotted sides and then draw heated air through the drum by suction, the drum being arranged to substantiall fill a closed chamber the side and end wal s of which are air. tight. The air is ordinarily heated by a set of steam coils over which the air passes on its way to the drum. But such systems as heretofore con-' structed, have proven 'expensive and unsatisfactory and dangerous in operation for the following reasons.

If highly heated air is drawn rapidly through fabrics which have been cleaned by gasolene or which contain hydro-carbons, spontaneous combustion is almost certain to develop. Also the expense of heating the 'air is reat, and the air when heated 1s expanded and it is therefore diflicult and even impossible under some" conditions to efficiently dischargeit into the surrounding atmosphere by means of an ordinary fan.

Owing to the difficulty of delivering the heated air to exterior points against the pressure of the colder, denser, and therefore heavier air of the surrounding atmosphere, and also owing to the heavy expense of heating'the air, it has heretofore been common to provide closed air circulating systems in which the same air is repeatedly used, a fan being employed simply to draw the air through the clothes and return it to the heating coils. But in such cases the air quickly becomes saturated with moisture and as condensation is very slight with the comparatively slight reduction in temperature at the fan side of the system, the drying process becomes very slow after the air has been once saturated. Its capacity to absorb additional moisture is then due wholly tov the additional heat imparted to it immediately prior to its delivery through the fabrics to be dried.

The object of my invention is to overcome the difliculties above mentioned and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1920.

7, 1916. Serial no. muss.

provide a 'drier in which the temperature of the a r passed through the fabrics may be at a point exterior to the building and into I cold air.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view of a laundry drier embodying my invention with the casing pailtly broken away to show the heating 001 s.

Fig. 2 is a view of the same in front elevation with the front wall of the casing broken away to show the fabric holding drum.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation also broken away to show the drum.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

The upper portion of the casing 1 is provided with a set of heatingcoils 2 over which. the air may be drawn bysuction exerted by a fan 3 of peculiar type which compresses the air to some extent as herelnafter explained. Air is admitted through apertures 5 in the top wall of casing I which apertures may be wholly or partially closed by hinged shutter valves 6. Air may also be admitted to the interior of easing 1 through apertures 7 which may also be wholly or partially closed by hinged shutters or doors 8. The air thus admitted is received in the space below the heatin coils 2 and above a rotary drum 10 in whic the fabrics to be dried are placed. This drum has skeleton, or perforated walls, such, for example, as the end walls of the drum 10, which are shown provided with apertures 4, through which the air may freely pass. The structure of the drum is not material, if its walls permit free passage of air in such a manner as to allow the air to reach all parts of the fabrics within the drum while such air is passing to the space below the drum. The drum should also be 20 c the feeding pipes or ducts 21 which in- I side of the axial center of the fan i. a, 'above and below the axial center, as shown fabrics to reach the lower portion of the casing. The drum receiving portion of the casing has cylindrically curved front and rear wall portions to which the drum is closely fitted. The drum should rotate in order to stir u the fabrics, without tearing them and a low the air to reach all portions thereof.

The air is circulated by an air compressing fan 3 preferably of t e type shown and described in former patents, Reissue No. 12655 dated May 21, 1907, and No. 1,033,929 dated July 30, 1912, respectively, although I preferabl provide vtwo outlets, as shown. In such a an, the casing androtary memher are similar to common t pes in commercial use, but the inlets are ocated atone in Fig. 2 and a cyclonic whirl is set up in creases in intensity as it approaches the fan casing aperture, andthis cyclonic whirl not only increases the efiiciency of the fan for air delivery but it also effects a certain degree of compression due to the centri etal force of the whirling current; the ten ency of the air current to whirl or rotate is not entirely broken up by the action of the fan wings, but ersists to some extent in the air delivere through the discharge pipes 22, two. of which are illustrated in Fig. 2, whereby, instead of bein lighter, due to the application of heat, t e air is in fact denser and heavier, and owing to its gyratory motion, it forces its way into the sur rounding atmosphere with reat facility. I am therefore enabled to wit draw hot moist air from the drying chamber and eject it through the ipes 22 to the exterior of the laundry buil ing even though the exterior atmosphere be cold and heavy. The air from the drum 10 passes downwardly in the cavity 25 at the bottom of the drier casing and thence to the fan casing, located at one end of this cavit The cyclonic whirl is initially develope in this cavity 25.

By roviding means for admittin any desired proportion of the air to the' rying chamber at points above the heating coils, or at such points and under conditions that the air must pass over the heatin coilsto reach the fabric holding drum an by controlling the admission of the remainder 'at points between the coils and said drum, I am enabled to cut off the heat toany desired extent and to use. quite a large quantity of unheated air from the exterior, since such air is seldom saturated, and is usuall capable of absorbing a great deal of additional moisture when drawn rapidly through wet fabrics.

I may also cut off, the heat almost en tirely when drying clothes that have been cleaned with gasolene, alcohol, or other inflammable material; i The coils are usually filled with steam and some heat will, of

course, radiate therefrom, into the air below, but not to a suflicient extent to materially affect the temperature, when the machine is in o eration with the shutters 6v closed. Ordina y, however, the shutters 6 will be fully open when the machine is-in operation, and the temperature regulated by the shutters or doors 8. To prevent inurious, results and waste of heat. due to careless management, I preferably.connect shutters 6 by a rod 30 which is pivoted to 1 each, and employing a rod actuating lever 31 which is automatically operated toclose the shutters 6 when the door 32 is opened. to remove and replace fabrics. In the construction illustrated, lever 31 is pivoted to casing bracket 33 'at 34 and normally held by a spring 35 in position with the shutters open. Lever 31 is provided with a curved operating arm 36 at its lower end' which projects into the ath of the door 32 in such a position t at when said door is swung upwardly to its open position, this arm 36 will be .pushed outwardly and the.

shutters closed. When the door is closed, the sprin 35 automatically actuates the lever to s utter opening position.

The shutters or doors 8 may be connected byan operating bar 42 which may be manually adjusted and held in any desired position by a detent 40 which may engage in any one of a series of notches 41 in the bar I I claim 1. A laundry drier, including the combination with a casing rovided with manually controlled means or admitting air, and

alsohaving an exhaust opening on the opposite side of the central portion ofthe casing from the inlet side, means for-heating the air at the inlet portion of the casing, a

container for fabrics interposed between the heating means and the casing outlet,

the air at the inlet portion of the casing,

a container for fabrics interposed between the heating means and the casin outlet, said container having openings a apted to permit the air to clrculate therethrough,

and manually controlled auxiliary means for admitting air to the casing between the heating means and the container said air withdrawing means being adapted to compress the moisture laden air and eject it in a compressed condition.

3. A laundry drier, including the combination with a casing rovided with manually controlled means or admitting air, and also having an exhaust opening on the opposite side of the central portion of the easing from the inlet side, means for heating the air at the inlet portion of the casing, a container for fabrics interposed between the heating means and the casing outlet, said container having openings adapted to permit the air to circulate therethrough, and manually controlled auxiliary means for admitting air to the casing between the heating means and the container, said air withdrawing means comprising a rotary fan having an eccentrically located suction inlet and adapted by suction exerted at its inlet to set the moisture laden air in rotation and simultaneously develop centripetal force to compress the same preparatory to the ejecting action ofthe fan blades thereon.

4. Alaundry drier including the combination with a casing of a container for fabrics rotatably mounted within the casing, said container being cylindrical in form and said casing having curved walls conforming to the curvature of the container, on opposite sides thereof, means for admitting air to the casing, heating means interposed between the container and the portion of the casing through which said air is admitted, means for admitting additional air between the heating means and the container, and air exhausting means on the other side of the container from that at which the air admitting and heating means are located.

5. A laundry drier, including the combination with a casing provided with a valved air inlet in one wall, and also having an air outlet at the opposite side of the casing, a container for fabrics rotatably mounted within the casing, and having perforate walls adapted to permit the air to circulate therethrough, a heater located between the air inlet and the container, and means for compressing the air on the opposite side of the container from that at which the airis admitted, and discharging it from the casing.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5, in which the compressing means is located exterior to the casing, and is adapted to compress the air therein by developing cyclonic currents in the vicinity of the outlet.

7. A laundry drier including the combination with a casing provided with main inlet ports and also having an outlet and a container for fabrics within the casing interposed between said inlet and outlet ports, air heating means interposed between the container and said inlet ports, adjustable shutters controlling the flow of air through said inlet ports and manually controlled means for admitting air to the casing between the heating means and said container, a door connected with the casing and afiording access to said container, means adapted to be actuated by said door, when opened, for closing the said main inlet shutters, and means for automatically opening said shutters when said door is closed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JEFFREY J. POWER.

Witnesses:

LE Roy W. Srrmox, Lnvmm'rr 0. WHEELER. 

